Developer Joins Residents In Fight Against Project

Some Fear A New Development On Alafaya Trail Will Drag Down Property Values.

March 24, 2005|By Jim Stratton, Sentinel Staff Writer

It's a development story with a twist.

Some east Orange County residents fear a proposed development on Alafaya Trail will clog the roads and strain neighborhood schools. This time, they've brought their own high-profile developer to the fight.

Beat Kahli, the man who built Avalon Park, says the new project called The Reserve at Alafaya is top-heavy with multifamily units and could drag down property values.

He says the 1,500-unit proposal is inconsistent with nearby neighborhoods because up to 75 percent of its homes are town houses, apartments or condominiums.

"The mix is very important," Kahli said. Clustering that many multifamily units together, he said, is "not good for the area."

The Reserve at Alafaya would be built on the west side of Alafaya Trail across from Avalon Park. As proposed, it would have 366 single-family homes, 496 town houses and 670 apartments or condos.

It also would include 120,000 square feet of commercial space, a park and 116 acres of wetlands.

The Orlando attorney for Italian developer Germano Valle said Valle plans to offset the effects of his project. Attorney Duke Woodson said Valle has agreed to pay more than $6 million in transportation- and school-impact fees several years earlier than required.

"He's agreed to write a check," Woodson said. "We've tried to help in that regard."

The project would be built on more than 400 acres in a part of the county that has seen explosive growth in the past decade.

Representatives from those neighborhoods say another new development would bring Alafaya Trail's two lanes grinding to a halt. A member of the Avalon Park Advisory Board has e-mailed residents, asking them to contact Orange County Commissioner Linda Stewart, who represents the area.

Residents want The Reserve delayed until the road is expanded to four lanes. Orange County transportation officials say that will take several years.

"The road just can't support all those extra vehicles," said Kathleen Almulla, a member of Avalon Park's property owners' association. "You'd have a mess out there."

Meanwhile, Stewart said the project faces "major environmental constraints." Stewart said the size of wetlands on the property probably would require Valle to scale back.

"There's no way they can build what they're asking to build," Stewart said. "I think we still have some leverage."

Just how much, though, is unclear. County commissioners have already approved the key elements of The Reserve at Alafaya.

Details still need to be approved, but those decisions probably won't change the project's fundamental character.

"There have already been public hearings and community meetings," Woodson said.

That said, Woodson suggested his client might alter the mix of housing. Most likely, he said, the developer would include more single-family homes.

"I can't imagine trying to convert the single-family to multifamily," he said.